wind: 1/25 of 95

Wind generates almost a twentieth of America's power, writes Kieran Cooke - and that's set to double in five years, despite the phase-out of tax credits. Now the main constraint to future expansion is power line capacity.more...

Way out in the turbulent North Sea, the Dogger Bank may seem like an unlikely place to site a large part of Britain's energy infrastructure. But given the stable sea floor, consistent winds, and distance from sensitive neighbours, it could be the perfect place. Even the fish could come to like it!more...

China has now overtaken the European Union as the largest new market for solar power, writes Paul Brown - as solar PV becomes one of the world's fastest growing industries - and one that's sure to keep on getting cheaper!more...

Offshore wind turbines are trying to reproduce at sea what works on land, write Maurizio Collu & Michael Borg. But it's proving a costly and high maintenance exercise. It's time to switch to new 'vertical axis' designs that promise to be cheaper to build and operate. more...

A large-scale independent study by Health Canana finds no link between the noise from wind turbines and health, writes Tyler Hamilton. That's not to say wind turbines can't be annoying - but there's a sure way to deal with that: give locals a financial benefit from their operation. Has Britain's wind industry got something to learn?more...

Consumers around the world want their electricity to come from renewable sources, writes Paul Brown. Yet governments from the UK to Australia are defying the popular will as they push for fossil fuels and nuclear power. The good news? Renewable energy is surging ahead regardless.more...

How did Germany do it? No, not its World Cup victory - how did Germany engineer Europe's highest penetration of renewable energy, plus fast-dropping electricity prices? Keith Barnham explains - and says the UK could do the same, and better!more...

California and Texas continue to break new ground in making electricity generation from renewable sources, writes Mike G. Solar PV in particular has become a vital part of the US' energy mix, accounting for half of new generation capacity.more...

Britain's new Environment Secretary is young (38), female, blonde, believes in climate change, and has floated imaginative policies to deal with it from a carbon tax to 'personal carbon allowances'. As for badgers ... her silence on the topic promises well.more...

The UK Government's self-declared war on onshore wind farms will make it very difficult for the UK to meet its EU renewable energy targets, writes David Elliott - especially as it cuts support for solar PV. Is the UK's energy policy being written by UKIP?more...

Feed-in tariffs are a great way to kick start renewable technologies, writes Chris Goodall. But they suffer from a law of exponentially diminishing returns. It's time for governments to move to direct R&D funding to achieve the transformational changes the world needs.more...

David Cameron has promised to suspend incentives for onshore wind farms if he is re-elected in 2015, writes Alan Whitehead. But how exactly will he replace the 8GW of planned wind capacity that will not be built?more...

wind: 1/25 of 95

One evening in March, wind delivered over 10,000 MW of electricity to Texas's power grid, almost 30% of total demand, reports Ian Partridge, and another 18,500 MW of capacity is under construction. So just why is Texas going so big on wind?more...

US scientists say that very large wind farms could not only withstand a hurricane: they would also weaken it and so protect coastal communities. As Tim Radford reports, wind farms could just have saved New Orleans ...more...

Anti-wind campaigners claim that wind turbine performance more than halves after 15 years. Chris Goodall analyses the figures and finds that even 20-year old wind turbines in the UK are still going strong ... more...

Prices paid in the UK to solar and wind generators will change to favour offshore wind at the expense of the others. Jim Platt warns that the policy is doomed to failure - offshore wind is just too expensive, and likely to remain so.more...

The truth is that 'green costs' are an investment that benefit all of us. Yet, to capitalise on that investment will take long-term vision, commitment, and a willingness to make and explain hard decisions.more...

From Shetland, Thembi Mutch reports on how the close knit community of the island are responding to the possibility of a huge wind farm (currently going through judicial review) changing their landscape forever.....more...